When I began making text paintings, I used the strips to basically cover large areas on the canvas. For example, in order to cover over a canvas which was not pleasing me, I drew a loose cartoon of a girl in a striped dress wearing red hose, and covered the background with strips cut from Interview magazine. I was fascinated with the process because I found myself reading each strip of text and thinking about how the juxtaposition of it with its neighbors changed the meaning of both. At that point I was mostly just putting straight bits of paper awkwardly on the canvas plane. As I moved on to the female form in the foreground, my intention was to paint it. But there happened to be some red paper in the magazine I was cutting text from, so I started using strips of the vibrantly colored paper to create the red areas. Then I experimented with various sizes of text to create the stripes on the girl's dress. I think this was the best part of the painting.

I was satisfied with some elements of this piece, but as with most work, dissatisfied with some aspects. I recently did another version of it utilizing pattern pieces as my text of choice. Note: The beads that form the bracelets are cut and rolled from photos of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.

The more I used text to create images, the more I experimented with various gels and started coaxing the strips into curves. I soon realized that the combination of curves and the relative distance between the strips of text was a useful tool for creating a three dimensional element across the surface of the painting. The three images below (from Wikipedia) help illustrate this.

I learned a lot by studying maps on which contour lines, both curved, and straight, describe the intersection of a real or hypothetical surface. (In this case, the real surface was my face in the self portrait I was painting, and the hypothetical surface was the jutting hip of the girl with the red legs.) The configuration of these contours allows the viewer to infer the relative gradient of the surface at specific places. In other words, the text strips began to create the illusion that the surface had a controlled, undulating movement. I liked the idea that lines allowed the viewer to translate an image from the flat surface to a 3D vision.

Of course, this is what artists do when they draw. This is often referred to as using cross contour lines. According to one artist's blog I came across that discusses how artists use these lines to create form (http://uniartone.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/cross-contour-lines/):

"Cross contour lines are lines that cut across the main axis of the form you are drawing. Effective use of cross contour lines can be a very economical way to show the form of the object you want to draw. They can also be developed into shading, by thickening the lines or by increasing the density. Additionally, thinking about cross contour lines will help you decide the direction of your brushstroke if you are doing a painting."

Here are a couple helpful examples:

I did not work on my text paintings yesterday. Sometimes it is best to just let them be for a while. Today I am ready to get back to work on them.